John Sewell administers
several websites that produce electronic bulletins, as follows:

Local Government Bulletin

This website contains information
to focus debate on the need to increase local self-government
in Canada, and to help local communities achieve more autonomy.
The monthly bulletin is sent to about 1500 addresses across
Canada and is available at no charge.

Bulletins from the
founding of the site in November 1999 are available on the website.
Various background documents which may be found in the site’s
library.

This bulletin has been published since
June 2003 on a monthly basis, and may be subscribed to at no
charge. The purpose of this bulletin is to openly discuss police
policies and procedures that help to make police more accountable
to the community they are committed to serve.

John
helped pull a group together in early 2004 to bring pressure
to bear on Council to retain Maple Leaf Gardens as an ice hockey
rink. Maple Leaf Gardens , the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs
Hockey team from 1931, had been empty since the Leafs moved
to the new Air Canada Centre in 1999. Both buildings are owned
by the same group of companies, and the Gardens had been put
on the market.

The
group, Friends of Maple Leaf Gardens, argued that since the
Gardens was probably the most famous building in Canada, its
major claim to fame – hockey - should be a part of any future
use. A campaign was mounted including several public meetings
and an electronic bulletin, but City Council was almost entirely
unreceptive – only one of the 45 members of council expressed
any interest in retaining hockey in the Gardens. With that one
exception, Council voted unanimously to endorse the conversion
of the Gardens to a grocery store.

The
extraordinary saga of Union Station – a flawed bidding process,
a great lack of transparency, secret decisions in closed meetings,
attempts by staff to disguise their actions, and more – lead
to Toronto City Council deciding in 2004 to lease the station
to private interests for 100 years. John was part of the Save
Union Station group and prepared regular bulletins which recount
this history over the last few years. The website is www.saveunionstation.ca
. The site has been inactive swicne Council;s decision in December
2004.

Direct City Action:
This group is concerned about current city issues, 2005 - 2006,
includign governance, structural reform of the Ontario Municpal
Board, and financial assisatnce form seniro governments. The
web site is www.directcityaction.ca .